Mower attachment.



PATENTBD MAR. 17, 1903,

G. P. BURTOHL MOWER ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED APR. 23. 1901.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

G Haw/mugs PATENTED MAR. 1'7, 1903. I

G. RBURTGH. MOWER ATTACHMENT. APPLIGATION FILED APR. 23. $901.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GILBERT F. BURTCH, OF ONIDA, SOUTH DAKOTA.

MOWER ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,673, dated March17, 1903.

Application filed April 23, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GILBERT F. BURTCH, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Onida, in the county of Sully and State of SouthDakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in MowerAttachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invenvion relates to an attachment for mowing-machines; and itsobject is to provide a bu nching attachment for collecting the cutmaterial and dumping it at the rear of the mower and to insure thedelivery of the cut material upon the bunching attachment after beingcut.

With these objects in view the invention consists in the novelconstruction of parts and their arrangement and aggroupment in operativecombination.

For a full understanding of the merits, operation, and advantages of myinvention reference is to be had to the following description and theaccompanying drawings, in which- 4 Figure 1 is a perspective view of myattachment applied to the frame of a mower and embodying all thefeatures of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same,showing the tail-gate raised. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on a lineparallel to the line of draft, showing the tail-gate lowered. Fig. 4: isa top plan view showing the manner of mounting the side board to thefinger-bar, the parts being broken away. Fig. 5 is a cross-section ofthe rotary rake. Fig. 6 is a perspective of one end of the end gate.Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail showing one of the pivotal connections ofthe side board with the cutter-bar.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

In the drawings, 1 represents the drivewheels of an ordinarymowing-machine, which are mounted on the axle 2, and 3 is the tonguetherefor. 4 is the pitman, which is connected with suitable mechanism onthe frame of the mower for imparting a reciprocating motion to thecutter-bar, while 5 is the stationary bar connected with the frame andforming at its Serial No. 57,036. (No model.)

outer end the bearing 6 for the pivotal connection of the finger-bar andwhich permits the cutting apparatus to be thrown upward. Secured to theouter end of the finger-bar is the shoe7, the outer end of which extendsin advance of the guard-fingers and the inner end being provided withthe inwardly-turned portion 7 This shoe serves to guide the materialfrom the cutter-bars onto the bunch ing attachment and prevent it fromfalling over the sides upon the ground.

The shoe 7 afiords a bearing for the pivotal connection of the sideboards 8, the shoe 7 extending inwardly and being pivotally connectedwith the plate 9, secured to the side board, by means of a bolt orpivot-pin 9, while to the other side board is connected an angular plate9 pivotally connected with the upturned flange 7, by means of apivot-pin 7 said flange being secured to the end of the finger-bar 10.Attached to the finger-bar 10 by means of rivets 10, as shown in Fig. 3,are the parallel slats 11, which extend back to the rear of thedrive-wheels and parallel to the side boards, the free ends draggingupon the cut grass when the machine is in operation. Attached to theinner side of one of the side boards is another shoe 12, which flaresoutwardly to guide the out material from the cutter-bar to the slats andprevent any of the cut material from falling over the end of thecutter-bar while passing from the knives to the slats of the bunchingattachment.

Attached at their lower ends to the rear of the side boards are the rods13, which are bent upwardly to form guides for the vertically-movin gtail-gate 14:. The tail-gate may be provided with suitable loops 15,adapted to envelop the guide-rods and freely slide thereon when the gateis raised or lowered. These loops 15 are formed on the end of aV- shapedplate 15, pivoted at its apex to the end gate, as shown in Fig. 6, andwhen one side of the end gate is lifted'higher than the other by anobstruction the plate is free to swing vertically and always remain in ahorizontal position, and thus prevent the loops 15 binding on theguide-rod 13. The other end of this guide-rod is bent inwardly andsecured to the top of the side boards, as shown at 16, and forms a bracefor the vertical portion thereof. The horizontal rod 16' is secured tothe guide-rods, near the top of the same, and to further strengthen andbrace the structure an additional upright brace 17 is applied, oneendbeing in engagement with the horizontal bar and the other with theside board.

Attached to the tongue is the usual seatspring 18, upon which the .seat19 is mounted, and upon this spring is secured the plate 20, having itsends bent at right angles to form bearings for the lever 21. This leveris bent to form an eye 22 at its end, to which the rope or cable 24 issecured, and is further provided with a horizontal portion 25, whichprovides a convenient means for operating the lever when the foot of thedriver is brought in contact therewith. Near the fulcrum-point of thelever is formed a stop 23, which contacts with the upper edge of theplate 20 when the lever is raised and prevents the latter from fallingback too far. The beam 26, secured to the bottom of the seat, spring, orother portion of the frame, extends to a position intermediate the endsof the tail-gate and has secured to its under side the pulleys A,through which the cord 24 passes from the lever, and secured at itsother end to the rod 27 at a point midway of the ends thereof. The endsof this rod 27 are attached to the top of the tail-gate. near the endsof the latter, as shown at 28, the central portion being left free tospri ng slightly when the gate is raised. It will be seen that by thisconstruction the draft exerted on the rod 27 at its center will beequally distributed on each end of the tail-gate as it is drawn upward,and thereby prevent binding of the same by one end rising higher thanthe other.

Secured near the front end of the side board by means of the bolt B arethe adjustable plates 29, provided with the slot 29 and an eye orbearing 30. These plates form a support for the rotary rake 31, mountedat the front end of the bunching attachment and above the cutter-bar andserves to conduct the cut material upon the slats. This rake is composedof ashaft 31, having transverse holes drilled therethrough, throughwhich holes are inserted the curved tines 31", as shown in Fig. 5, andmounted upon one end thereof is the toothed wheel 32, which engages theground and revolves the rake when the machine is in motion. Upon theends of the shaft are mounted the pins 33, which fit within the hearingor eye formed on the end of the plate 29, and these pins are made longand extend entirely through the eye, so that when the toothed wheel 32contacts with an obstruction or when the machine is being operated onuneven ground the rake is allowed a free up-and-down movement withoutdislodging the same from its journals. By means of the slot 29 and theset-bolt B the rake can be adjusted in advance or in rear of thecutter-bar, as desired, and by curving the tines outwardly the cutmaterial gate, as shown in Fig. 2.

will be conducted upon the slats and not caught by the ends of the tinesand thrown in front of the machine, as would occur if they werestraight.

The operation of my device is as follows: As the material is cut by thecutter-bar the toothed wheel 32 being in engagement with the ground willrevolve the rotary rake, and the curved tines will catch the cutmaterial and conduct it rearwardly onto the slats 11, the slats beingmade of flat metal strips separated to form open spaces between themthrough which the stubble projects andby engagement with the cut grassholds the latter while the machine is drawn forward and the slats fromunderit. Thisin eifect causes the cut grass to move to the rearward andlodge against the tail-gate 14. When asufficient quantity is upon theslats, the driver by pressing his foot against the extension 25 on thelever will cause the latter to be thrown downward to the position shownin Fig. 2. This will, through the rope 24, raise the tail- Now shouldany of the material be caught between the lower edge of the side boardsor the slats or for any other reason it be desired to raise the sideboards the driver by pressing the rope between. the ends of the lever,as at X in Fig. 2, will cause the tail-gate to be further raised and bybeing in engagement with the top of the guide-rods will consequentlyraise the side boards, which is effected through the pivotal connectionsat the ends of the finger-bar. When the loosegrass has been depositedfrom the slats, the lever may be thrown upward to the position shown inFigs. 1 and 3 and the tail-gate lowered.

The rotary rake is of special advantage in mowing short prairie grass orin mowingany grass when a heavy wind is blowing, since the wind wouldblow the grass off the slats after it has been cut and allow it to beblown away from the machine. My invention will overcome thisdisadvantage by providing the rake with curved tines which grasp the cutmaterial and force it rearwardly onto the slats, and. to further insurethe delivery of the cut material upon the same the shoe 7 is extendedbeyond the ends of the fingers, While the other shoe 12 has aconsiderable outward flare, as shown in Fig. 4.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In an attachment for mowing-machines, the combination of a slattedplatform secured to the finger-bar, side boards pivotally attached tothe finger-bar, guide-rods on the side boards, a tail-gate slidable onthe guiderods, a spring-bar having its ends secured adjacent to the endsof the tail-gate, an operating-lever and a flexible connection securedat one end to the said lever and at the other end to the spring-bar atapoint midway the ends thereof.

2. In an attachment for mowing-machines,

the combination of a slatted platform attached to the finger-bar, ofside boards pivotally secured to the ends of the finger-bar andinclosing the sides of the slatted platform, a vertically-slidabletail-gate mounted adjacent the free ends of the slats and side boards,aspringbar secured at its ends to the top of the tailgate near the endsthereof, whereby a resilient connection is made between the tail-gateand its operating mechanism,alever mounted upon the frame of the mower,said lever bent in an arc of a circle and provided with a stop and alateral extension, and a flexible connection between the lever and therod on the tail-gate, whereby the tail-gate is adapted to be raised orlowered.

3. The combination with the finger-bar of a mowing-machine, of slatssecured to the side of the finger-bar and extending rearwardly from thesame, side boards pivotally attached to the ends of the finger-bar andinclosing the sides of the slats, a rod attached to the free end of aside board and bent to form a vertical guide-rod, and an oblique bracefor the guide portion of the rod, a tail-gate adapted to slidevertically upon said rod, a lever mounted on the frame, a beam attachedto the frame and extending transversely above the tail-gate, pulleysmounted on the beam, a flexible connection adapted to pass through thepulleys and secured at its ends to the lever and tail-gate, whereby thetail-gate may be raised and lowered.

4:. In an attachment for mowing-machines, a slatted platform, sideboards inclosing the sides of the slats, an adjustable rotary rakemounted in front of the side boards and having curved tines, and atoothed wheel on the shaft of the rake adapted to engage the ground, andby means of which the rake is revolved. A

5. In an attachment for mowing-machines, slats secured to the finger-barand extending rearwardly of the same, side boards inclosing the sides ofthe slats, shoes secured to the side boards for conducting the cutmaterial upon the slats, adjustable plates mounted on the front end ofthe side boards and having an eye, a rotary rake having transversejournals adapted to be loosely hung within the eye of the plate, atoothed wheel mounted on the end of the rake and adapted to contact withthe ground whereby rotary movement is imparted to the rake, avertically-slidable tail-gate mounted adjacent the ends of the sideboards and the slats, and means upon the frame for raising thetail-gate.

6. In an attachment for mowing-machines, the combination of a slattedplatform attached to the finger-bar, side bars pivotally secured to eachend of the finger-bar, a vertically-slidable tail-gate, a guide-rodattached to each of the side boards, loops pivoted to each end of thetail-gate and enveloping the guide-rods and'means for elevating thetailate.

7. In an attachment for mowing-machines, the combination of a slattedplatform attached to the finger-bar, side bars secured to each end ofthe finger-bar, a vertically-slidable tail-gate, a guide-rod attached tothe rear end of each side board, means 011 the tail.- gate in engagementwith the guide-rods to prevent binding of the gate in itsupward-anddownward movement, and means for elevating the tail-gate.

8. In an attachment for mowing-machines, the combination of a slattedplatform attached to the finger-bar, a vertically-slidable tail-gate, aguide-rod attached to each of the side boards, a plate pivoted toeachend of the tail-gate, said plates being provided with loops adaptedto engage the guide-rods and means for elevating the tail-gate.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GILBERT F. BURTCH.

Witnesses:

J. H. GROPENGIESER, F. R. PIERCE.

